Generally, I’m going to play the game that returns the most — including slot club, promotions, and mailer. Sometimes, however, I have a choice between a few different games that return about the same amount. Here is my approximate ranking — your mileage may vary.
Hundred Play > Fifty Play > Ten Play > Five Play > Triple Play > single line games. Assuming the same return, the more lines the better. This increases the fun and decreases the variance.
I prefer these over Double Super Times Pay and Super Times Pay. Keep in mind, though, that if it’s the same pay schedule, the DSTP version adds about 0.5% and the STP versions adds half that. These additions more than make up for the fact that these aren’t my favorite games. The reason for my lack of excitement on these games is the speed. Whenever you get a multiplier, it takes five seconds or so for the exact multiplier to be “squeezed” out and made visible. I’d prefer to have that five seconds to play another hand.
Quick Quads > Ultimate X. Since neither game regularly comes in good pay schedules (other than at the South Point), the choice is moot for most people who seriously value winning. Quick Quads has a different strategy — but not a greatly different one. The sound Quick Quads makes when you get a Quick Quads (namely three of a kind where the ranks of the other two cards add up to the rank of the trips) strikes the right level of excitement and non-annoyingness. Ultimate X is a game with a sky-high variance and the strategy for the game is quite a bit different than regular video poker games. You have to be in the mood to play and willing to lose a great amount today, even with a good pay schedule.
Spin Poker is okay, but not nearly as attractive to me as Ten Play.
I usually avoid Dream Card as I find the sound effects annoying.
Multi Strike is an interesting game, but it’s slow. Keeping four strategies straight requires some effort, although it’s not impossible. If I’m playing while tired, though, I’ll sometimes make mistakes on this game.
I prefer slant tops to uprights to bar tops. Bar-top machines, even with good pay schedules, have stickier than average buttons due to drinks being spilled on them. I can play longer on slant tops than I can on uprights.
I prefer adjustable seats to non-adjustable. I am taller than average and prefer a higher chair than average.
Each of these game-types come with several different games. That is, you can find Double Double Bonus, Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, etc., in most of these game types.
Deuces Wild is generally my favorite game. (It doesn’t exist in Quick Quads.) What makes it interesting to me is you never know what you will get. Start with two deuces and you can end up with anything from 3-of-a-kind to four deuces — meaning anywhere from five coins to 1,000 — per line.
Jacks or Better — This game is arguably the simplest and has the lowest variance. Some people get bored with the variance, but not me. Since I’m playing games where the slot club and other goodies give me an advantage, it’s plenty okay just to grind it out.
Double Double Bonus — This is the most popular video poker game in the country. I generally avoid it because it rarely returns more than 99%. When found in a better version, or with a GREAT promotion, this game is fun. Better have your seat belt on though. It has a lot of variance.
I will play other games, of course, if they happen to be the best game at a casino. Exactly which one it is doesn’t matter much to me. If I can learn the strategy, I can play it. If learning additional games doesn’t come easily to you, you might limit your selection to the games you already know.
There are games like Ultimate X Bonus Streak and others where the correct strategy is unknown — at least by me. I do not have the computer programming skills to work it out, and commercially available software does not contain these games. To get good at a game I need a computer to correct me when I make a mistake.
As I said at the beginning, the total return of the game is the most important thing to me. It matters to me not at all if your favorite games are different than mine.